Comics Brand SLG Publishing Launches Crowdfunding Bid to Stay Open

The publisher that helped launch the careers of multiple creators aims to use crowdfunding to deal with recent financial problems.

SLG Publishing

SLG Publishing—the California based independent comics publisher best known for publishing early work by creators including Evan Dorkin, Faith Erin Hicks and Rick Remender, series such as Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Street Angel and Skeleton Key and a pre-Marvel publishing deal with Disney that resulted in Tron, Gargoyles and Haunted Mansion series—has launched an online crowdfunding campaign in order to rebuild after what owner Dan Vado describes as “bad luck, bad economy and, yes, bad decisions.”

On the GoFundMe page for the campaign, Vado writes that the company, which launched as “Slave Labor Graphics,” had “maintained an even keel through turbulent times” since its launch in 1986 but has recently been overcome with financial debt following a forced relocation.

“After running up our credit line during the move our bank decided to review our account and decided that the balance on the credit line was too high and, in their infinite wisdom, demanded immediate repayment in the form of a high-interest loan,” Vado explained. “This created a domino effect where, when reporting the change in my credit status to the various credit bureaus caused them all to cut my credit and in a couple of cases close my accounts.”

Vado went on to explain that, while SLG Publishing remains solvent and in business, “revenue from comics publishing is not enough to keep us open AND pay down our debt,” adding that the company has “exhausted all of the typical means of raising money, [alternate forms of] crowdfunding and sales with pretty decent discounts being a couple of them,” before choosing the GoFundMe route.

The campaign’s goal is $85,000. In the 20 hours since the campaign went live, it has raised over $4,000.